Clockwork
by Hamano Chiaki
Summary: Tsuna stumbles upon a land where everyone's hearts are clocks. They're destined to run out of time sometime, someday. 1827. Inspired by the manga, Heart no Kuni no Alice.


Clockwork

_Tsuna stumbles upon a land where everyone's hearts are clocks. They're destined to run out of time sometime, someday. 1827. Inspired by the manga, Heart no Kuni no Alice._

-xx-

Meeting the stoic skylark came as a surprise for young Tsuna, after waking up in a field full of clocks. He was alone in the center of the field, staring into space as the breeze picks up the ends of his coat. His jet-black hair is ruffled against the breeze and his eyes are shut, shielding mysterious eyes from the brunette.

There is a clock in his gloved hand, the needles unmoving and there is no ticking. It's rusted and old-looking, with its intricate details and once vibrant shade of copper now faded and dull. The man drops the clock onto the ground and Tsuna watches with curious eyes as sparks escape the clock, escaping into the sky.

It's like magic for Tsuna, as the red sparks escape from the clock. It moves about erratically, as if calling up a storm. It flies left, then right, often circling around the man in the coat before shooting towards the sky with a blast. Caught up in the beauty of it, Tsuna does not realize the man's approach.

"What are you doing here, herbivore?"

The man looms over the brunette, his features are impassive, and the coat in his shoulders makes him look intimidating. There is a cane in his left hand, with what seems like a purple hedgehog on the curve of the cane. He places a black top hat, ornate with a purple sash and a small pocket watch on it, on top of his raven locks as he stares down at the brunette.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

The man's eyes widen ever so slightly at the soft thumps of the teen's heart. _Could this boy be the one to save this land?_ The man continues to analyze the boy under his shadowed, scrutinizing gaze. He seems too scrawny to be the one, but he has a heart. _A heart that pumps life fluids in its host!_

"Come with me, little one."

The man gracefully offers a hand to the little brunette. Wide, brown eyes stare curiously at the gloved hand, wondering if the man is kind or a baddie. _His mama always told him not to follow strangers!_ However, his intuition is telling him to trust this man, his intuition has never failed him before!

Deciding that the man is a good person, the boy takes the man's hand. His hands are cold, the young boy thinks to himself. He smiles brightly at the man, hoping to get the man to smile along. However, the man's stoic expression does not budge.

"Mister, I promise I'll make you smile!"

The skylark is shocked at the boy sudden declaration, and is overwhelmed by the need to laugh. He snickers softly behind his free hand, coughing softly in order to hide his chuckles. He snorts at the thought of the boy making him smile.

"Hn, we'll see, little one."

-xx-

Ten years past in a blink of an eye, and little Tsuna has grown up into a fine young adult. He has come to know the mysterious man as Kyouya, and that he works as a timekeeper. As a timekeeper, he fixes the clocks of the residents of the mysterious land. These clocks are the "hearts" of the people, the core of one's being. He records the lifespan of one's "heart" for archiving purposes.

When a clock dies out or is destroyed, Kyouya is in charge of "disposing" it properly. In the field that Tsuna had arrived at, is the "graveyard" of these clocks. Kyouya extracts the souls from the clocks in the form of sparks, leaving the clocks empty until another soul is reborn into it. Thus, the continuation of this cycle.

Although Kyouya is the timekeeper, he is not immortal. Everything comes and goes. The living will one day die. For Kyouya, he is reaching end of his clock's lifespan. As the days go by, he can barely move as gracefully as he did ten years ago. Tsuna, who loves him more than he should, is worried and devastated when Kyouya breaks the news to him.

"No! You can't die! I-I need you!"

"Hn, you should have expected this, herbivore."

For the past ten years, Tsuna has been addressed as a "herbivore" by the timekeeper. _Not having him around to address him as a "herbivore" is unimaginable for Tsuna!_

Tears well up in the caramel eyes, but Tsuna is stubborn to let them fall. Although he loves Kyouya with all of his heart, he knows that Kyouya will never be able to love him back. For he does not own a beating heart. A pinch to his cheek brings him out of his thoughts.

"Listen, herbivore. I want you to properly "dispose" of my clock. I have taught you the techniques to do so."

"B-but-!"

"No but's, herbivore. You will change this land into a better place when I'm reborn once again. Or, I'll bite you to death!"

"O-okay, Kyouya..."

The day after his agreement, Kyouya's clock stopped. It stopped approximately at midnight, not a second too early and not a second too late. Tsuna mourns over his death, but quickly sobers up at his promise to the skylark.

_"You will change this land into a better place when I'm reborn once again."_

He clenches his fists and snatches up the clock from the spot where Kyouya used to lie. He runs towards the field of clocks, murmuring the chant he'd learnt to "dispose" the clocks. Once reaching the center of the field, he throws the clock up into the air.

Purple sparks explode from the sleek clock, floating gently in the air. The sparks spread out in the air, almost enveloping the teen within it. Tsuna shuts his eyes as he feels the breeze blow against him and the sparks shoot upwards with a blast.

_See you soon, Kyouya._

-xx-

Another ten years pass, and Tsuna has fulfilled his promise to Kyouya. For the past ten years, Tsuna hasn't been able to get Kyouya out of his mind. He also took over the role as timekeeper.

As he "disposes" another clock, there is a slight rustle of the bushes behind him. He had managed to revive the greenery in the land, and the plants are thriving along with the residents.

A young boy with raven hairs edges from one of the bushes, looking rather confused and lost. Yet, he looks familiar with the area. Tsuna approaches the boy, very much like the time Kyouya approached him.

"Hello, what is your name?"

"Hibari."

Tsuna smiles at the boy, and smiles wider when the by smiles back shyly. He offers a hand to the boy, smiling gently.

"Ne, follow me, Hibari-kun. I'll take care of you."

"Hai!"

**This was rather random, since I read a manga and they had something about clocks being hearts and all :) Thanks for reading! Please review! :D**


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